A Not So Ordinary Day
by Fire And Frost
Summary: A short fanfic telling of the day that Jack's sister was born. Also contains some headcanons.


The autumn air was crisp and cool, with the sound of children laughing as they played joyfully in the fields below. People in the village hurried back and forth, pushing carts filled with food or pulling water from the wells.

"Hurry up, Jackson," said the town baker, Mr. Greys, to whom Jack had recently been apprenticed. "Of course, sir," he replied, grabbing a few loaves of bread from the counter and putting them on the metal sheet that hung over the fire.

"You're a lucky lad today, don't you know?" the baker told him. "The force of our bad luck being countered by Harvest Day. Friday the 13th indeed, lad!" Jack simply nodded and went to get more bread from the basket outside.

As soon as he returned, Mr. Greys asked him, "Say, how is your sibling doing? I expected your mother to give birth last week. Overdue again?" Jack looked up at him."Well, she said that she would be the first to know when the baby is ready."

Mr. Ashmann suddenly ran into the shop, gesturing for the baker to come outside. "I got to step away for a quick minute. Don't you go anywhere, lad." Then he stepped out, leaving Jack alone for the time being.

Jack was deep in thought when he was quite rudely interrupted by a piece of bread thrown at his face. "Excuse me, but…" he started to say. Standing in the doorway was Winifred Lillian Bennett, who just happened to claim the position of the smartest girl in town. Also, the richest.

"Oh…" he whispered, gazing at her in awe. "Can I come in?" she asked, looking at him with those intense forest green eyes. "O-of course, miss," he said, turning away from her quickly. "I want the best loaf of bread you have. And make sure it's hot. I refuse to go home with anything but the best. This is your first Harvest Day, right? I mean, you only sailed from London last winter, which must have been a horrible journey…"

Jack effectively tuned her out while he worked on getting "the best bread" for her. _What a spoiled brat,_ he thought. _No way will I ever end up liking her. _"…Father gave me for Christmas last year. And Mother gave the best present! But my Harvest Day birthday is sure to top that. I am seven years old now. How old were you again, Jack?"

"Seven, like you," he said, keeping his back to her. "Oh, of course. The winter solstice. What a special day for you to be born on." And just like that, she rambled on, blissfully unaware of anything else in the room besides herself.

"Here's your best bread," he said, practically shoving the bread into her arms. She blinked in surprise. "Thank you, Jack." "You're welcome." She ran out of the bakery, not once looking back.

He sighed and turned around, picking up a bucket and sweeping the bread crumbs into it before kicking it back under the counter. Mr. Greys chose in that moment to re-enter, standing tall and regal.

The baker cleared his throat, successfully getting the attention of his apprentice. "I need to leave for the rest of the day, lad, so do you think you can watch the bakery until closing time?" "Oh, well, of course I can, sir."

"Excellent! Meet me here tomorrow at dawn. There is much to clean up after Harvest Day." Then Mr. Greys walked out again, slamming the door behind him with a very final sounding bang.

Jack was about to wash the silverware when his father leaned over the outside counter. "There you are, son," he said. "Come fast! The baby is about to be born!" Forgetting all other responsibilities, Jack dropped the cleaning brush and ran outside.

The boy entered the house alone, for it was considered indecent for a man to attend childbirth. He could see his mother was sitting halfway upright on the dining table. Thankfully for Jackson, a midwife was standing in front of her, blocking his view from it and possibly saving his childish innocence for another few years.

An ear-piercing cry filled the room and thirty seconds later the midwife turned around, holding a wailing baby in her arms with a head full of dark black hair. "It's a girl," the woman declared happily, resulting in the joyous shouts from mother and son.

"What are we going to name her, Mommy?" her son asked. "Why don't you pick?" Jack grinned. "Ok! How about…Lily? No…Jane? No way…oh, I know! Elizabeth!" His mother smiled. "That sounds like a great name."

Jack's father came inside, since the childbirth was now over. "Is it a boy or girl?" he asked. The midwife replied, "It's a girl, and your son here has just named her Elizabeth." The man smiled and patted his son's head. "Good job, Jackson, good job."


End file.
